Answer
by PaperCutVictim
Summary: A question. An answer. How simple they are in one's head. But some questions are more difficult to answer. How long does it take for one to think over a question that could change one's life? And how long will the one asking wait? IsaacMia oneshot.


Something I thought of writing, especially since I haven't written anything in a while. x.x;; Thought it'd be a nice little story for the holidays so, here it is. Hope you enjoy it.

And yes, I do like changing things around to suit my needs. :P

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to Golden Sun whatsoever (would be nice :P). I write purely for the fun of writing.

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Answer

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Snow.

A sight she certainly wasn't any stranger to, nor the town she lived in. Imil was always like this during the winters anyway. It fluttered gently to the ground, each snowflake silently crashing into powder on the white blanket that covered the buildings.

Silent.The way she kept the pain she felt in her heart.

Never once had snow heralded anything good in her life.

Mia closed her eyes, willing the pain to stop rising. Futile, she knew. It wasn't like it ever worked before. Still, she could hope, couldn't she? Why? What was the point? It happened anyway.

Winter. The same season her mother had died giving birth to her. The same season her father had died, leaving her and Alex orphans. The same season Alex had mysteriously left her.

She was over those. Her hurt this year was over a new reason.

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_She'd caught sight of him slipping away from the festivities. Though in her head she knew he wanted to be alone, Mia's heart forbid her to just let him go. As quietly as she could, Mia followed Isaac. He stopped at the river, staring at it in what she sensed to be a contemplative way._

_"You can stop hiding now, Mia."_

_The Mercury Adept stiffened, alarmed at his knowledge of her presence, but not as much as she was by his tone. It was still the soft, strong voice he had always possessed, but he seemed... Distracted? Unsure? Nevertheless, she came out of hiding and walked until she was standing by his side._

_Isaac favored her with a small, gentle smile, the one that gave him a knightly aura that she found so attractive. Mia blushed slightly as she returned his smile. Their blue eyes, hers a soft azure, his the color of the ocean depths, met and locked. How she cherished these moments. There was a kind of intimacy in them that she couldn't place, but she enjoyed them nevertheless. But Mia sensed something different this time. He seemed so consumed in his thoughts, and past experience had taught her that was never a good thing._

"_Is there something wrong, Isaac?" she asked cautiously._

_He grinned a little, slightly showing his pearly teeth. "Mia, I've told you a hundred times already. You don't need to talk that way with me. We're friends, right?"_

_Mia lowered her head to hide her blush as she smiled shyly, her apology barely above a whisper._ _Still, one word crashed down on her with a force she'd never felt before_.

_"Friends..."_

_Mia suppressed the tears she felt wanting to rise up in her eyes. 'I can't let him see... I don't want him to see...'_

_Why were they even coming out anyway?_

_"Why'd you come out here?" he asked her._

_Mia felt herself startled once again by that strange piercing quality his questions always seemed to have. Past experience helped her overcome her shock, and she responded, "I was worried about you."_

_It was his turn to be surprised, and when he widened his eyes, Mia could see more of those strangely entrancing eyes that had intrigued her from the moment she'd seen him. It brought a smile to her lips._

_The Venus Adept asked in a clearly surprised voice, "Worried? Why?"_

_Smiling in an embarrassed manner, Mia replied with a shrug, "Well, you just slipped away so... suddenly. And you looked like you were disturbed or something..."_

_"Oh. Yeah, I just... needed to get away."_

_Mia smiled at this. She should have guessed. Isaac was a very private person, and would definitely have wanted his space. Perhaps she was just reading too much into his emotions. 'Yeah... that was it.'_

_'No,' she knew. 'It wasn't.'_

_He was still staring off into space, with that thoughtful look of his. How her heart pounded at this moment, for a reason she could not place. She sighed. Did it matter? Who knows..._

_"Sounds like you've got something on your mind too, Mia."_

_Damn that perception of his! Could she tell him? Yes, she had to. After all, she wasn't needed around her anyway._

"_I... I'm leaving, Isaac."_

_He whirled to look at her, a shocked expression in his eyes. "You're what?"_

_Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she repeated, "I'm leaving."_

_Isaac's mouth moved a bit without any sound emerging. It was curious to see him this way. She'd never seen him at such a loss for words. It was... endearing. Cute, even. It would have brought a smile to her lips if it weren't for the gravity of the situation._

_"There's no reason left for me to be here. Our quest is over, and Vale's rebuilt. You... have your home again. And your family."_

_Isaac stared at her, but in a manner that told her he was clearly listening. Some emotion was lingering behind his eyes... What?_

_"Weyard will be fine now. But I... well... I just don't need to be here..."_

_"Where... will you go?"_

_"Home... to Imil. I still haven't finished training Justin and Megan, so I guess I should. I won't be around forever, you know."_

_She laughed a quiet, humorless laugh which Isaac did not share. That emotion she couldn't place intensified. "I understand," he said softly. His head lowered as he visibly tried to suppress whatever it was that he was feeling._

_"We'll still be friends though... right?"_

_It was odd now to see Isaac's reaction nearly mirror her own earlier. Mia's head tilted to her right. That feeling of intimacy she felt before, she could see that it was reciprocated. What could it be?_

_Isaac looked away from her, bringing her full attention back to him._

_"I uh... I wanted to talk about that, actually..."_

_He seemed... fidgety. How very unlike him, Mia noted. How very curious. But, it was endearing. Cute, even. "Is there something you want to tell me, Isaac?"_

_Isaac suddenly turned to her with an alien expression. As if that alone wasn't enough to alarm her, he suddenly grabbed her face with both hands and pressed his lips against hers in a wildly passionate kiss. Mia's eyes shot wide open but soon closed tightly as she felt her arms wrap around his neck instinctively. Her thoughts raced. Was this right? Should they be doing this? What was this feeling in her heart? Why was he doing this? Oh, but his lips... His breath... She felt as if she were drowning in a vast, turbulent sea, her emotions acting as the great stormy waves plunging her into the depths, never to return._

_And she in turn wished to drown in that sea._

_Her world focused only on him, on this slim, beautiful boy who was kissing her in a display of uncharacteristic, but no less welcome, boldness. How she wished this moment would never stop..._

_What was this feeling that swelled up in her heart?_

_At last, after what seemed an eternity, they parted, panting for air and gazing into each other's eyes, stunned, but ecstatic. "I-Isaac..."_

_"I'd wanted to tell you for so long... but I just couldn't find the words to say it... I just... I had to. It was the only way that I could tell you that I love you."_

_Mia was stunned. That alien feeling in her, that feeling she'd never felt until this young man and his two companions had showed up in her life, grew stronger. Love...? Was that it?_

_"Isaac, I... I don't know what to say... I..."_

_"I didn't want to say it like this. But... I had to tell you... before you left. And I... well... I..."_

_What was he going to do now? After what he'd just done, Mia was about ready to believe he'd do anything else... Even..._

_She watched him drop to one knee. "I... I want to marry you."_

_Propose...?_

_Her heart beat so hard that Mia would not be surprised if it exploded. 'He just proposed to me...' Could she do it? They'd only known each other for-_

_It was then that she realized just how long this quest had taken. In those months, clearly over a year, she'd felt now that she and Isaac had been secretly courting each other, but they'd contained all their deepest feelings to the best of their abilities. She was happy that these feelings had a name, and best of all, were reciprocated. But..._

_"Isaac... this... this is so sudden..."_

_"I know, I'm sorry Mia, but I-"_

_"No, it's alright but... I... I just need time to think..."_

_"I understand... I will wait... for your answer."_

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She'd left the next day. She felt so guilty about that... He'd worked up the courage to propose to her, and she'd turned and fled like a coward. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Mia shook her head as she got up from her position kneeling beside her bed.

But... could anyone really blame her? It had been so sudden. She'd scarcely had time to recover from his kiss. It was like a relentless assault, and she'd been caught so off-guard.

Mia sighed sadly as she walked to the fireplace, crackling with a bright fire that warmed her body. 'But not my heart...'

Had she blown her one chance at true love? Had that even BEEN true love? How could she know? She'd never had a relationship with anyone in her whole life. She couldn't even count Isaac as a real relationship. By no stretch of the imagination could she count anything they'd done as flirting or anything of the sort. But, in retrospect, she realized that somewhere, she'd fallen in love with him.

Love... That elusive emotion that so many sought... Wild, yet gentle... Soothing, yet grating... Painful, yet so pleasurable...

Everyday, Mia could only think about him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Violently, she shook her head again. Stupid! Why in the name of Mercury was she thinking about such stupid phrases? The Mercury Adept walked over to the stove and prepared herself a cup of hot cocoa.

As she sipped the hot, soft-brown liquid, she couldn't help but remember Isaac. Where was he now? Still in Vale, perhaps. And he'd probably married another girl that deserved him more. Perhaps Jenna, she'd always seemed to have a thing for him. Mia remembered that fiery, free-spirited girl. Though they hadn't gotten along well at first, they'd become good friends.

She would make a good lover for him... Would probably be a good wife for him too...

Tears stung Mia's eyes just thinking about it.

She looked out the window. People seemed so happy at this time of the year. Oh yes... Christmas. That time of the year when everybody had somebody. She'd spent every one of them alone, that she knew of. Mostly voluntarily, since she didn't want to intrude, but also because she just couldn't feel any togetherness or any of that. It was true that she was a shy person, but she could also be very aloof too. Cold even... Like her element... Like this season.

He'd changed her though. Though she'd helped him, she realized that he'd helped her. And they both had felt something together for the first time.

Mia set down the cup and flopped onto her bed, her soft blue hair falling slightly into her eyes as she stared at the ceiling. She softly said the words that she knew she had to admit, and admitted to everyday.

"I love him."

More than a year had passed since that day. She was 19 now. She had yet to give him a reply.

Would he even remember her? They'd never written each other a single letter. In a pile in the corner near her table were letters, all crumpled into balls, each one bearing words in ink that she'd meant to send to him.

"He's probably forgotten all about me."

Well, perhaps it was for the best. She didn't deserve him. He would find a better woman elsewhere. Besides, they were only 19. And when he'd proposed, they'd been but 18! How could they possibly know they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together! It was preposterous!

Or was it?

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to give him her reply. She wanted to tell him what her answer was.

"Yes."

It was too late now though. Or was it? No, it was. So why didn't her heart believe it?

A sharp rapping at the door broke her thoughts and alarmed her into sitting up. Glancing at the mirror, Mia quickly smoothed down her hair and her clothes, the same robes she'd worn when she first left with Isaac and his friends (The thought of burning it had occurred to her more than once) and hurried to answer the door.

She sighed. It could be one of those men that had worked up enough courage to ask her out or something. Or just wanted to gaze upon her, as if she were some kind of goddess. Next, they'd be burning sacrifices at her door. Rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the thought, she opened the door.

At first, the figure in the doorway didn't seem familiar. It was clearly a male, though he was covered in snow, and he seemed to have traveled a long way but...

Her heart stopped.

Silence passed between the two as they regarded each other, both in a similar state of shock. Tears welled up in Mia's eyes. She swallowed hard and asked in a barely audible voice, "Isaac?"

Isaac grinned slightly. "You gonna invite me in or not?"

In alarm, Mia realized that she'd left him in the freezing Imil winter for what must have been at least a full minute. With a yelp, she dragged him with a strength that surprised even her, slammed the door and hurried him to the fireplace. Isaac could only watch in a daze as she grabbed a chair for him, all but throwing him into the seat, and ran to the stove to make more hot chocolate, all the way screaming her apologies and talking in a very quick, incoherent manner. He'd never seen her like this. How very unlike her. How very curious.

But, it was endearing. Cute, even.

Now that he'd gotten his joints warmed up some, Isaac stood up, taking off his heavy cloak that his mother had insisted that he take for his journey and his yellow scarf. Placing them on the chair, he walked to Mia, who'd just finished pouring his hot chocolate. Mia turned but, surprised at seeing him, dropped the cup with a gasp. Isaac quickly managed to grab it, the heat from the cup and the spilled drops of liquid a welcome contrast to the biting cold of his hands.

"I-I'm so sorry, I just wasn't expecting you to be there and-"

Isaac smiled as he silenced her, holding his finger to her lips. She quieted instantly, blushing from the close contact that she'd missed for so long. They stared intensely into each other's eyes for a time, losing themselves in them. It was then that Mia knew, with full conviction, how she felt about him. She took his hand and slowly pulled it away from her mouth as he watched her curiously.

"I love you, Isaac."

His smile, which had disappeared from his face when watching her, returned, wider than before. A feeling akin to ecstasy swelled up in him. Happiness, pure, unadulterated happiness. There was nothing else he could think of that could come close to describing this feeling. He'd finally heard them: the words he'd wanted to hear the most for a year and seven months. But he could see that she wasn't finished yet. Isaac kept quiet and waited for her to continue.

"By any chance... are you... you know..."

"Married?" he asked, gazing somewhat slyly at her.

Blushing fiercely at being so transparent, Mia looked down and nodded, partly out of embarrassment, and partly out of fear.

He tilted her head up with his finger under her chin, smiling in a gentle, reassuring manner.

"I couldn't, not without hearing your answerfirst."

Shock. It was like a dream. Not only had he not forgotten her, not only did he still love her, but he was still interested in her. The doubts of before were gone. She didn't care how young they were. She knew in her heart she was ready, and that he was ready too. She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him tightly. Tears of happiness flowed freely from her eyes, and his arms wrapping around her seemed only to enhance their flow. No matter, for she felt those same tears on her shoulder as he held her. And her heart swelled so much with love that it felt as though it would explode. At least she would die happy.

For the first time in her 19 years of life, Mia was happy during the Christmas season. But the happiness she felt now seemed to make up for the previous 18. She knew they would work. All of her doubts were gone. There was no denying the love they felt in their hearts. And she knew that, through whatever trials they would face in the years ahead, they would pull through, just as they were now: together. No more doubts about age or any thoughts of being too young. She was ready.

They were ready.

And her heart knew what her answer would be.

"Yes... I will marry you."

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_The End_

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A/N: Yeah, sappy, I know, I couldn't help myself though. I gotta let some out now and then, y'know:P So yeah, that wraps that up for me. Happy holidays everybody, and merry Christmas to you and yours.


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